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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To feel frustrated house hunting

21 replies

WholeNutt · 08/02/2014 15:00

I grew up in a rural village and loved it, moved to the outskirts of the nearest city to be with dh. We've decided to move but due to his work we have decided a 30 minute commute is the max for his comfort as he works long hours.

I spend a lot of time away with work so obviously don't want to be out in the sticks as he'll be the one feeling it the most.

We cannot find anywhere suitable and I'm losing patience. Why must house hunting be such an arse ache?

OP posts:

HortenMarket · 08/02/2014 15:20

YANBU. We are also house hunting and it is a total bloody nightmare. We found one place and had an offer accepted and then they pulled out, so back at square one.

And people, if you're house is on the market and you know potential purchasers are looking around, FFS clean and tidy the bloody place! I don't care if the bathroom or kitchen is old, but I do care if its dirty.

OP I feel your pain.

Original poster

WholeNutt · 08/02/2014 15:36

God yes!! Sometimes I wonder if they actually want to sell, I know you need to look past their things etc but have some bloody pride!

OP posts:

HortenMarket · 08/02/2014 15:41

your house

wowfudge · 08/02/2014 15:42

YANBU unless what you are looking for doesn't exist and you are not compromising in order to find somewhere.

Is renting in the area you'd like to buy in an option? That way you can see if it works for you and - not particularly likely I know - you might find you can buy the place you are renting or at least be in the right place to hear of places coming onto the market early on. Or contact Phil and Kirstie .

sebsmummy1 · 08/02/2014 15:43

Oh yes, was in your position last year and I was so infuriated at what was on offer and for how much.

In the end we changed our search criteria and looked 30 mins the other side of the city my DP works in. It was closer to my Mum but less desirable a location. We've been here 3 months now and we are happy. The house has everything we were looking for in the old location for about 40k less.

bochead · 08/02/2014 15:45

I so agree.

The survey came up crap on a property back in October, and we've not found anything we like since.

House hunting is now officially driving me nuts, and I'd assumed before we started that this would be the fun part of the whole relocation process.

HortenMarket · 08/02/2014 15:50

WholeNutt I know! I have truly viewed some terrible places which estate agents say just need 'finishing off'. Finishing off my arse. If they can't clean for a house viewing then what will it really be like when you move in and start finding all manner of nasties? Grim.

sebsmummy1 · 08/02/2014 15:52

Plus you start the process excitedly with a whole plethora of houses to scan through, by month four you've viewed the ones you wanted to, discounted the rest and only a few more appear each week. So then you start looking again at the ones you discounted and the whole thing becomes thoroughly depressing.

Much like internet dating lol.

HortenMarket · 08/02/2014 16:06

Ha yes sebsmummy1 it does start to feel desperate when you view the ones you have seen sitting on the market for months and, guess what, they are as crap as they looked online.

Saltycopporn · 08/02/2014 18:12

Are you really suggesting you would turn down a house that hadn't been cleaned? If everything else ticked the boxes?

Manchesterhistorygirl · 08/02/2014 18:18

Probably a good job my house is being deep cleaned this weekend then, we've got an offer in but still no sign of a bloody solicitor being appointed so two more viewings tomorrow.

It's empty now, so surely it'll go?

HadABadDay2014 · 08/02/2014 18:22

My parents are house hunting ATM, and they are both very stressed.

If you are going to invests thousands of pounds in a home, for me it has to tick all boxes.

paxtecum · 08/02/2014 19:21

My friend bought a house that needed a lot of tlc. Each time they viewed it dirty dishes were in the sink, dirty washing on the floors and beds unmade.

The DW was having a nervous breakdown.
The DH had been having an affair.
They were getting divorced.
The house was being repossessed.

Sometimes it is more than not having pride.

DoJo · 08/02/2014 20:40

I don't care if the bathroom or kitchen is old, but I do care if its dirty.

See, I'm the exact opposite - I can clean a kitchen, by myself in a day, whereas replacing an old kitchen is a costly job involving a lot of upheaval! And I say this as someone who had 3 cleaners spend 4 hours cleaning the house I have just moved into...

DrMaybe · 08/02/2014 21:05

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

TheArticFunky · 08/02/2014 22:50

I viewed a house once and I screamed when I went in one room because I thought there was a dead person in there as it stank to high heaven. It had a downstairs bathroom and there were bottles of urine in the bedroom. Not nice to think that the owner had got in such a sad state.

hiddenhome · 08/02/2014 23:52

I hate greedy vendors who ask way more than the house is worth.

We've just put an offer in on a house and the survey is just terrible. They're asking 150,00 and it's barely worth 105,00 due to having shoddy work done in the past

We're looking at new builds now cos everyone is asking way too much for these doer uppers.

sebsmummy1 · 09/02/2014 09:44

Oh god greedy vendors fucked me off hugely.

A few examples;

visited house that was up for £265. It was a chalet bungalow and an identical chalet bungalow on the same small cul-de-sac was on for 60k less. I asked the EA what made this house 60k more expensive than the other one. They said the footprint was bigger (it wasn't) and the vendor had said that the other bungalow was horribly run down whereas hers was not.

Errrrm hers certainly was and stank of stale cigarettes, thread bare carpets, old avocado bathroom suite etc etc. By the end the EA admitted to me the house had been valued at much less and had sold at the lower value months previously and the sale had fallen through. So the vendor had marched back into their office and said that it had sold too quickly at the lesser price, she wanted it back on at 30k more and that house still sits on the market right now at the higher value [hmmm]

house comes up for sale in a village next to ours (where we lived at the time). External photo is a little bit odd as to where the estate agent had cropped it, but ok. It looks like a nice standard house on a corner plot in an ok village. We look on Google maps and the plot looks pretty nice. Reasonably roomy garden, possibility for extension in the future, price ok.

We get there and think 'ooooh this cannot be the house, it's got another house half built an inch to the left of it', consult paperwork, oh yes, this was indeed the house. The vendor had sold off the corner of the garden and a new house was being built an inch away and that is no exaggeration. All the windows on that side of the house were now bricked up. The garden was now tiny and overlooked, we were so shocked lol.
It did sell eventually for about 30k less than the asking price.

HortenMarket · 09/02/2014 14:24

DrMaybe that is exactly it! I can clean anything and have done in the past when we have moved. But I agree if there is dried urine crusting the outside of your toilet, then you know the importance maintenance stuff is unlikely to be done.

DoJo I'd rather rip out an old kitchen (that is cleanish) and replace it. At least you know what you are in for then.

Obviously some people are going through bad times/divorces etc and they can let things go, but that isn't every house. I don't mind looking at houses that EA say needs work. But don't pretend they are fabulous undiscovered gems when they aren't! And then ask top whack for them and get offended when you don't get it.

I realise I am being very judgey but it's hard not to when looking around at houses to buy!

Original poster

WholeNutt · 09/02/2014 15:13

A person is having a bad time, they are able to put their house on the market yet not make their bed?!

OP posts:

Happymother77 · 25/02/2014 14:10

House hunting is always a very stressful process. But you need to be more patient! Everything will be ok and you will find something that suits your needs. Consider hiring a real estate agent or if you don’t want to hire him and pay him fees you can search at different websites where people sell their property and contact the owner directly. For example, I bought my house with the help of edinburgh.localmartuk.com/property-for-sale/ and I don’t regret that I refused hiring an agent. It’s so comfortable to look through different offers staying at home, you have time to think everything over, talk to your family and see different variants. Always ask neighbors about the property you are interested in!

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